During the manufacturing process of a vehicle and after the vehicle has been painted, care must be provided to not damage the paint finish from the time the paint is dry until the door catches are installed. During this interval of time, the vehicles may be temporarily stored in automatic racks as well as continue the assembly of many aspects of the vehicle before installation of the rubber stripping and door catches to the vehicle doors. If during this time the vehicle door comes in contact with the vehicle frame, the paint is subject to chipping and scratching. In the alternative, if the vehicle door is open too far, then the door is subject to hitting items as the vehicle passes along the assembly line process or as it is being delivered to and from the automated storage racks. Therefore, it is desired to provide a means that holds the vehicle door approximately 1/2 inch away from the vehicle frame.
An existing method currently used by some vehicle manufacturers is to apply sticky back foam pads to the vehicle frame at points where the door would contact the frame when closed. The doors are then closed and tape is wrapped around the door window frame and a section of the vehicle frame. When the door is ready to be opened, the tape and pads are removed and discarded. This procedure has inherent disadvantages such as the time spent removing the foam pads from a dispensing roll, installing the pads at strategic points on the vehicle frame, unwrapping the tape from a dispenser roll and then wrapping the tape around a window and vehicle frame and then later unwrapping and removing the tape and foam pads from the vehicle doors and frame. If unexpected non-routine work is necessary for a particular vehicle, the tape must be removed temporarily and then reapplied. In addition, once the tape and foam pads have been permanently removed from the frame and doors, the residual adhesive on the paint must be cleaned.
Another disadvantage of this procedure is that the foam pads and tape material are generally not reusable and are discarded after a single use. This procedure adds to waste disposal costs. In addition, there can be occasions where the door edges break through the foam causing that breakthrough area to require a paint retouch after the foam has been discarded.
An alternative method used by some manufacturers is to substitute a removable belt for the tape. The belt saves on the cost of tape disposal, but the belts take longer to install and remove, and the belts may not be compatible with all vehicle models. In addition, installation labor costs of the belt and foam still are present.
An object of the invention is to significantly reduce material and labor costs in the installation. It is further an object of the invention to provide a device that is easier and faster to install by the operator. It is also an object of the invention to eliminate adhesive which generally needs to be cleaned from the paint. Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a reusable device and thereby remove or diminish disposal costs.